Source: Radio New Zealand
An albatross/toroa being looked after at Wellington Zoo. Supplied / Te Nukuao Wellington Zoo
A beach cleanup group says it is seeing more injured or deceased sea birds after storms.
Stormy weather in the capital this week blew birds off course and left some exhausted and in need of rescue.
An albatross, a gannet and a fairy prion were among those picked up by the Petone Beach Clean Up Crew.
“Because they’re seabirds, they’re not made for the land, so we know they’re in trouble and need help, and they need to go to DOC (Department of Conservation) or the Nest at Wellington Zoo,” said Lorraine Shaab, who ran the clean up crew.
Shaab said she kept a cage in her car ready to hold rescued birds, but this week the albatross proved not to be a good fit.
“He was a huge bird. He came up past my knee.” she said.
If people come across native birds, like this albatross, DOC is the best port of call. Supplied / Te Nukuao Wellington Zoo
But she said the bird was also exhausted, which made transporting him less of a challenge.
“I actually put him in my car because he was too big for the cage.”
“Normally I would never do it, but he was exhausted,” she said. “He had no fight in him whatsoever.”
Meanwhile, Shaab’s gannet rescue had left her less fond of the bird.
“They’ve got good beaks on them,” she said.
“So I learned a bit of a lesson just to be a little bit more prepared next time if I rescue a gannet.”
A gannet. Supplied
The fairy prion proved to be more smooth sailing.
“He was just, I think, soaking wet and happy to be in a dry cat cage,” she said.
Shaab said following the storm she had also come across some dead gulls and was aware of some other dead birds people had reported to her.
She said they were finding more birds injured or deceased after storms, but it was not the only thing killing them.
“We’re finding more birds with entanglements from fishing line and swallowing fish hooks as well.”
Shaab said in Wellington if people came across native birds like an albatross or a gannet, DOC was the best port of call. For other birds like seagulls she said she was happy to collect them and drop them off with the appropriate people.
Another albatross was picked up by the Department of Conservation.
Wellington Zoo currently has three albatrosses in its care. Supplied / Te Nukuao Wellington Zoo
Operations advisor Brent Tandy said its rangers picked up the wandering albatross in Petone on Wednesday.
“It seemed to be uninjured, just exhausted and blown off course because of the storm.”
“The albatross was taken to the Nest Te kohanga at Wellington Zoo where it’s currently being rehydrated and stabilised before full health checks in the next couple of days,” he said.
Wellington Zoo said it currently had three albatrosses in its care, two found in Petone and another in Upper Hutt.
It said the birds had been blown off course and were exhausted by the storm.
The zoo said the albatrosses had arrived dehydrated and weak, with some injuries to their feet from the crash landing. But they were responding well to IV fluids and nutritional support
“First we need to rule out any underlying diseases or injuries, then they need careful nursing and waterproofing on our salt water pool. Birds that are fit to return to the wild need to be released at sea by boat.”
The zoo said climate change was having a serious impact on the fitness and survival of seabirds.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
